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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

"Black Horizon": Ripped from Tomorrow's Headlines - A Guest Post by James Grippando

This month, Fabulous Florida Writers is pleased to welcome guest blogger James Grippando. James is a New York Times bestselling author. His 21st novel, Black Horizon, was released in March ,2014 and is the 11th in the critically acclaimed series featuring Miami attorney Jack Swytek. James lives and writes in south Florida, where he is Counsel at the law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. He was our featured writer on April 27, 2011.The marketing folks who promote my novels like to say that “James
Grippando’s books are ripped from headlines.” I disagree. Like many writers, I
stay on top of current events, but I don’t retell the past. I look for trends
and forces that are destined to collide in the future, and then I ask the most
important question a thriller writer can ask: “What if …?”

If I’m ripping anything from the headlines, it’s from tomorrow’s headlines.

Black Horizon (Jack Swyteck #11) is a perfect illustration of how I work. Last
year, I launched Blood Money (Swyteck
#10) with an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” The final question Joe
Scarborough asked me in the TV interview was “What’s next?” I told him that
Cuba was drilling for oil just fifty miles from the Florida coast, and Black Horizon was the story of what
could happen if a drilling disaster of the magnitude of the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon spill happened in Cuban Waters. Within ten minutes of the airing of my
segment on “Morning Joe,” about thirty e-mails had populated my inbox. Almost
all were about Black Horizon. One was
from Gwen Keenan, Director, Office of Emergency Response, Florida Department of
Environmental Protection.

“You are writing about the
U.S. Coast Guard’s worst nightmare,” Keenan said in her e- mail to me.

I’ve always done my own
research for my novels. It’s something I enjoy. From my perspective, the best
thing about being an established author is that people far more knowledgeable
than I are eager to help me get the facts right. Director Keenan became that
person in Black Horizon. Through her,
I became aware of some startling dangers about a potential oil spill in Cuban
waters. Some of these dangers stem from the eerie similarities between Cuban offshore
exploration and the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. But it’s even more
complicated, due to the fact that the U.S. has imposed a strict trade embargo
against Cuba since 1963. (I’m told that President Kennedy ordered 1,200 Cuban cigars
the night before the embargo became effective, but that could be Miami
folklore). Cigars aside, consider these facts, which collectively add up to a
potential geo-political crisis:

·An estimated 5.5 billion
barrels of oil and another 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie beneath a
mile or more of ocean in the Cuban basin, midway between Havana and Florida. Because
of the U.S. trade embargo, current exploration is being led by Russian oil
companies with no U.S. oversight or involvement.

·Earlier this year (Jan.
2014), former Florida Senator and Governor Bob Graham, who co-chaired a
presidential commission on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, reported that,
with the Russians’ help, Cuba and its state-owned oil company are
“aggressively” pursuing plans to drill offshore, as close as 56 miles from Key
West.Deepwater Horizon was 48 miles
from shore.

·Cuba’s primary target is
near the maritime border in waters that could be 10,000 to 12,000 feet deep. Deepwater
Horizon was in 5,000 feet of water.

·Experts agree that with the
Gulfstream moving at a swift three to four knots, a Cuban oil spill would
impact Florida in just six to ten days. It is estimated that Cuba has 5% of the
resources it needs to respond to spill on the order of Deepwater Horizon.

·The lack of any diplomatic
relations between the U.S. and Cuba, let alone a maritime treaty, means that
the U.S. cannot be assured of the safety standards in Cuban drilling
operations. The U.S. trade embargo against Cuba means that the Coast Guard
would be barred from deploying highly experienced manpower, specially designed
booms, skimming equipment and vessels, and dispersants. U.S. offshore gas and
oil companies would also be barred from using well-capping stacks, remotely
operated submersibles, and other vital technologies.

Pardon the pun, but with
facts like these spilling out before me, the premise for Black Horizon almost wrote itself:What if an oil spill of the magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon
catastrophe happened in Cuban waters and the U.S. was powerless to stop
it?

JACQUELINE

Based on a true story, "Jacqueline" is a tale of family, faith, unusual friendships, and the resiliency of the human spirit set against the backdrop of occupied Rennes in 1944. With the drama of fiction and the authenticity of personal history, "Jacqueline" is both a story about family and a family's story.

PROJECT JUNE BUG

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About Me

I'm currently a columnist for The Island Reporter, a publication serving the South Gulf Beaches in St. Petersburg, Florida. My Florida Authors series features articles based on exclusive interviews with some of the state’s best writers. My “Pride & Joy” column
profiles individuals who give back to their communities through volunteerism.
I'm also the author of two novels."Project June Bug" is the story of a young teacher’s efforts to help a student with ADHD. It has received 12 awards, including Premier Book Awards “2009 Book of the Year.” My latest novel, "Jacqueline,"(published by Anaiah Press) is a middle grade historical based on an experience my dad, a WWII veteran, had while stationed in France shortly after D-day. Four of my stories have appeared in "Chicken Soup for the Soul" editions.
I live on Treasure Island (yes, it's as beautiful as it sounds), with my husband and two rather noisy macaws. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, walking on the beach, and visiting family in New Jersey, where I'm the proud "Grammy" of six beautiful grandchildren (with the pictures to prove it!)